Bluevoice Org

I went on a trip with this group to swim with the dolphins in their natural habitat. That part of the trip was glorious, as was the sailboat. I’d imagine that’s part of what my contributing funds went to support. But the way I was treated (as a donor, and participant) during this adventure was horrendous. By the Hardy’s as well as their “friends”. I would think twice before giving anything to this group.

Blue Voice is a small organization with giant accomplishments in the field of marine mammal conservation. I have known BlueVoice founder, Hardy Jones, since 1978 and was with him in 1979 when he became the first non-Japanese observer at Iki Island during the dolphin massacre there. His reports created international awareness of the plight of dolphins in Japan. Since then, Hardy has returned to Japan almost yearly as he continues to lobby for marine mammal protection in that county as well as other countries across the globe. I have never know someone more dedicated to a cause.

BlueVoice operates with very low overhead while the great majority of funds raised by the organization are used in direct actions promoting marine mammal conservation. An accomplished filmmaker, Hardy has deployed his media skills to promote ocean conservation via numerous high profile television documentaries, magazine publications, and books. The BlueVoice.org website has enormous reach and has been effective in shaping marine conservation initiatives worldwide. Hardy's work is important, imaginative, effective, and BlueVoice is certainly deserving of support from any global citizen concerned about the health of our oceans and especially the plight of marine mammals.

Howard Hall

Founded in 2000 by Hardy Jones and Ted Danson, BlueVoice.org is an ocean conservation organization whose mission is to protect dolphins, whales, and other marine mammals from anthropogenic threats and to raise public awareness about the linked impacts of toxic chemicals (e.g., Mercury, PCBs and persistent organic pollutants) between ocean ecosystems, marine wildlife, and human health.

Under the auspices of executive director Hardy Jones, BlueVoice.org serves as a leading authority and pioneering organization in the effort to end drive hunts and the slaughter of dolphins in Japan; the organization is also an outspoken NGO and a “go to” representative of Civil Society at annual meetings of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

One of the central underpinnings of the BlueVoice.org mission, which I am particularly proud to support, is the active opposition of cetaceans (i.e., whales, dolphins, and porpoises) in captivity for non-rehabilitative, entertainment purposes. Killer whales and other dolphins captivate our imaginations - they are our sea-faring counterparts – with stable social bonds, languages, ideas, and behaviors that are passed on from generation to generation. They are, indeed, whales with a culture. To confine these highly-intelligent creatures whose worlds are largely acoustic, to what amounts to a life-time prison sentence, is simply inhumane and unfathomable.

As a former executive director of a national whale protection organization, I have experienced first-hand how many animal protection NGOs adopt a reactionary, inflammatory, radical approach to their very emotionally-charged work, largely to their detriment. By contract, Hardy Jones stewards BlueVoice.org along a reasoned, science- and conservation-based approach to accomplishing its important mission. His integrity, compassion, and over three decades of experience in advocating for the health and safety of dolphins worldwide has gained Hardy the admiration and respect of his peers, as well as adversaries who have an economic stake in the hunting of dolphins. Indeed, his tireless work and dedication to BlueVoice.org’s mission has earned Hardy the nickname of “Dolphin Defender”.

As a board member, it is an honor and a privilege to serve BlueVoice.org, its dedicated team, its noble mission, and to be on the front-lines of emerging issues around the globe – not only to know about emerging threats to dolphins, but to actually be an active participant in an organization that puts its passion into results-driven action. Whether investigating linkages between the consumption of dolphin meat and Type II diabetes among inhabitants of Peruvian fishing villages; documenting the slaughter of dolphins and their podmates in Taiji; or parlaying with governments along the migratory route of humpback whales to oppose commercial hunting of these magnificent creatures, Hardy Jones and BlueVoice.org stand as leaders among domestic and international NGOs in the protection of marine wildlife and ocean ecosystems, and the increasingly evident relationship between the health of marine environments and the health of my favorite species . . . humans.

I was attracted to BlueVoice because it is a low overhead, high impact organization that uses a combination of television, its website and networking applications to disseminate scientifically grounded information of huge importance in a way that reaches millions of people and produces real results. What BlueVoice has accomplished in educating about the dangers of contamination to the ocean food web has impressed me. And I have to admit that point of view that dolphins and whales are highly intelligent, sentient creatures is something that resonates with me. Using these creatures as a focal point attracts sympathetic attention not only to them but to the broader plight of the oceans.